


just human things

by sansrival



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, feat. stubborn humans and frustrated nonhumans, when deific matchmaking goes awry, yvesoul and platonic gosoul + hint of others
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21540766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansrival/pseuds/sansrival
Summary: Overseeing the love lives of mortals has a bit of a catch: sometimes, you gotta break couples up to make soulmates happen.After doing this for literal eons, Gowon thought she was desensitized to wrecking relationships for the sake of making perfect ones. But on the verge of being fired (a.k.a. cast off to eternal damnation), she faces her toughest assignment yet in the very stubborn Jung Jinsoul.Or: a nonhuman (a divine, all-knowing being!?) claiming to be 'Cupid' gets schooled on what it means to be human. And on love, ironically.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul & Park Chaewon | Go Won, Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Comments: 50
Kudos: 297
Collections: THE MOBIUS COLLECTION NOVEMBER 2019





	1. i'm the answer to all your troubles

**Author's Note:**

> decided to take on the very broad trope of ~soulmates~…subverted, but keeping the cheese and dramatics
> 
> also taking a page out of The Good Place's book in how it makes an abstract concept concrete, except what's being office-fied here isn't the afterlife, but soulmates (or the functioning of the universe in general…but that sounds too ambitious for a fic i wrote at 2am)

“I’m going to get fired. Literally, I will perish _in fire_.” 

There’s an employee evaluation in two Gregorian weeks. By the looks of it, Gowon is screwed, quite frankly. 

“Maybe. But! You know what will get you in the boss’ good graces again?”

Gowon looks over and finds Yeojin staring at her, all bright-eyed and easygoing. She stuffs the report into her lowest drawer. Her grades seem to dip little by little every time she receives them. Alright, she’ll admit it: she’s been at this for a while now and she’s no longer as good as she used to be.

She fails to notice Olivia, her cubicle neighbour, frowning at her hidden stack of disparaging reports.

“That hard-ass Jung Jinsoul will.”

Gowon groans. “You tell me that every time we get the appraisal reports.”

“Yeah, 'cuz what better redemption arc than solving Mission Impossible? Listen, I believe in you! If anyone could get that rascal on the right path, it’s you,” Yeojin nudges. She seems to manifest the phrase ‘easier said than done’. “Olivia would agree with me. Right?”

Yeojin turns to their co-worker, who stares back at them with a jaded look in her eyes. She always seemed snappier than the rest, but Gowon could tell that was just a front. She seems more tired than usual, though. 

“Yeah, you can,” Olivia replies, shoulder rising in a half-hearted shrug. Gowon purses her lips; she was expecting a more encouraging answer than that.

“Maybe the _me_ of ten orbital periods ago…but the _me_ now has ‘Lamentable’ under Productivity and ‘Lousy’ under Dependability. My performance is crummy,” Gowon mumbles, recalling the bright red words tainting the paper she had just stuffed into her cave of a desk drawer. “I’ve lost my magic touch.”

“It’s ‘cuz of your crummy attitude!” Yeojin exclaims, shaking her head. When Gowon only sinks further into her snazzy leather chair (new model; the office has taken a liking to mortal ergonomics), Yeojin suddenly leaps out of hers and nearly yanks her co-worker out of her seat.

“Say, why don’t you go give Jinsoul a little visit?” she whispers, face lit up with mischief.

Talk about anti-climactic advice. Gowon purses her lips in disappointment, pushing Yeojin away. “I can’t really afford to bend the rules right now.” Direct confrontation with humans is frowned upon around here. "Besides, I'm already taxing my resources from up here."

She's been trying to settle the Jinsoul case remotely for months under the laser eye of her boss, but despite her new strategy, Gowon always finds herself back at square one. 

“It’s only bad if you’re caught. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. You’re on the verge of being cast off to Eternal Damnation,” Yeojin reasons with a shrug, and she says it like it’s not serious, but it is, “what have you got to lose?”

“ _Ughhhhh,_ ” comes Gowon’s guttural cry. Eternal damnation _is_ some serious divine punishment - imprisonment in fire and brimstone, which is to say she will literally cease to exist.

“Come on, up, up,” Yeojin urges, “this is your year, I know it. Have some confidence, put on your best human costume, and go fix this shit!”

Gowon glances over to Olivia, perhaps in a plea for help, but Olivia just gives her the slightest of nods.

“What should I say? Should I give the ‘future daughter’ angle a shot?”

It’s a classic: ‘ _I’m your kid from the future and I will disappear if you and parent #2 don’t get together right at this moment'_. (Works like a charm, apparently, but mostly with straight couples.)

“That’s Choerry’s thing,” Olivia suddenly interrupts. “Don’t copy her. And don't bother her about it, she's busy with her own cases.”

Gowon narrows her eyes. “Nevermind then. I don’t need a stupid backstory,” she grouses.

Why does Olivia always have to bring up Choerry? Her cubicle’s not even anywhere near theirs. And what’s so special about being the top employee for thirteen straight Gregorian months in a row anyway? There is _nothing_ special about that. Who cares about getting resource priorities on February 14 every year? Gowon can succeed on her own merit! She’ll show Olivia, she will!

“Backstory schmackstory. If you need to make use of silly mortal stories to get the job done, you’re a cop-out!” Yeojin exclaims.

“Says the one who’s never stepped foot on earth,” Olivia grumbles.

“Because I’m so damn good at my job, I don’t need to! I can make mortals fall in love from the comfort of my customized... Herman... Miller... Embody. Ah.” Yeojin reclines in her office chair, putting her hands on the back of her head, lips pulled up in a smirk.

Gowon sighs. “Fine. I’m going down _there_.”

“We’ll cover for you,” Olivia assures her before catching a glance Yeojin, utterly distracted by the dynamic surface pressure of her seat. “Well, _I_ will,” she quickly murmurs and that, somehow, sounds more reassuring to Gowon than anything Yeojin could ever tell her.

***

The fur around the hood of her coat is the softest thing she’s ever touched in her entire life. And Gowon has lived a very long life.

Twirling in her pink coat, Gowon admires her reflection on the glass window as snow falls in a gentle sprinkle. Vivi – from the design department – ran an illicit side hustle creating corporeal forms for whoever wanted to leave the office and give earth a visit behind the boss’ back. It’s some _eternal damnation_ -worthy shit, but she claims it's a source of thrill. Drafting sketches of humans is boring, apparently.

Gowon finally gets to bask in the human form made especially for her. Her face? Perfectly symmetrical. Eyes? Like a doe’s in the winter. Hair? So luscious that Rapunzel would be envious. Forehead? Glistening. Her features just come together perfectly and there’s only word to succinctly sum it up: _cute._

She looks so goddamn cute. Vivi did an incredible job.

“I look much cuter than you,” she brags to the tall, slender mannequin on the other side of the window wearing an identical coat, twitching her nose at its shiny hairless crown, “and I have _hair_.” 

And then she cocks her head, eyes narrowing for a moment, before letting out a frustrated groan. “Okay _fine_ , maybe you’re still the better looking one…” she grumbles. 

Before Gowon could go on a sudden barrage of self-deprecating comments (is this a human thing? Gross), her superstar mortal protagonist appears in her peripheral. Gowon immediately runs over to the girl bundled up from head to toe, coming to a halt right in front of Jinsoul as her clean white boots leave skid tracks on the snow.

Jinsoul almost stumbles backwards in surprise.

“Hi!” Gowon greets cheerily.

“Um…hi? Who are you...?”

Her grin is blinding. “I’m the answer to all your troubles.”

Jinsoul can only blink. 

***

Gowon is aware of how it looks: Jinsoul was just minding her own business, out on a nice stroll on a chilly November day, when a total stranger popped up in front of her claiming to solve all her problems. Yes, it's very sketchy. 

But Gowon is also aware of Jinsoul’s predicament: her mind is plagued by a vast array of worries and she might just be desperate enough to believe that maybe this adorable stranger really does have the answer to all her troubles.

(Instead of, you know, dismissing her as a nutcase and running off. Which is what a normal human being would do.

But Jinsoul’s always had a unique flair for diverting expectations.)

So screw the suspicion, Gowon went for it. But even though Jinsoul has willingly sat down at this picnic table, the suspicious look in her eyes tells Gowon something has immediately dawned on her:

“Are you gonna try to scam me?” she asks. “Just so you know, I’m not interested in whatever pyramid scheme you have up your sleeve, nor do I want to attend some pseudo-religious cult ceremony where I have to donate a thousand times my age in won or whatever.” 

Gowon’s perfect human face scrunches up in evident confusion.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she answers, and then she straightens her posture and clears her throat. She's on a time crunch. “I’ll make this quick. I’m going to say three things, tell me which one you believe in the most.”

Jinsoul quirks an eyebrow.

“One, I’m God.” (Jinsoul narrows her eyes.) “Two, I’m your daughter from the future.” (Jinsoul’s eyebrows only furrow deeper.) “Three, I’m Cupid.” 

Solid possibilities. 

But Jinsoul only returns her anticipating look with a glare. “Uh, I’m supposed to pick one of those?” she asks, “because none. What are you talking about?”

Taken aback by her response, Gowon draws a blank. “Huh?” 

(Okay, maybe she slept through the seminars on human interaction when she first entered the company. To be fair, since it’s against policy to directly engage with mortals anyway, Gowon didn’t think the lessons mattered. Why learn how to act like a human being if she’s not even supposed to interact with human beings? Make it make sense!

Gowon also didn’t think she’d ever be desperate enough to be in a position where she had to take on a corporeal form and talk to mortals, but alas…)

She really should’ve chosen an identity beforehand and stuck with it. 

“Alright, technically, it’s all of the above," (but also none of the above), “but if that’s too unbelievable for you, you can just call me Gowon.”

Jinsoul lets out a snicker. “Okay then. Well, nice to meet you, Gowon. I’m Jinsoul.”

“I know,” Gowon interjects with a dismissive wave, “listen, I’d love to chat with you and all – that’s what humans do, right? _Small talk_ or whatever? - but unfortunately, I don’t have much time. And I already know everything about you.”

Jinsoul raises an eyebrow. “You don’t even know me,” she replies with a small chuckle.

Gowon gasps at the insulting accusation. Don’t _know_ her?! She’s known of Jinsoul the entire twenty-two years she’s existed! “For your information, I know your case file like the back of my very dainty hand. Jung Jinsoul, born day thirteen, month six, year ninety-seven of the tenth decade – per the temporal organization of the Gregorian calendar – to parents–”

She comes to an abrupt stop when Jinsoul shoots up from the bench, eyebrows meeting above slow intermittent blinks. From her expression, Gowon can see the gears in her head churn.

“You're not like, a _stalker,_ are you? Because I won't hesitate to call the cops on you.”

Gowon widens her eyes. “What? No!” (In hindsight, maybe she shouldn’t have said all that from the get-go.) “I’m not a stalker, I’m harmless!” (For now.)

“Well, you’re kind of freaking me out.”

“Do you believe in Cupid? I’m just going to say I’m Cupid!” Gowon says hurriedly, spreading her arms out, “it’s me! Cupid!”

Jinsoul’s backing away now. Gowon’s quick to her feet, nearly tripping over the picnic table bench when she lurches.

“How do I explain this in a way you’ll understand? Oh, for Firmament’s sake, I should’ve paid attention to the seminars,” she fusses. On second thought, _maybe_ coming down here without a coherent plan whatsoever was a terrible idea. “I- oh, you have to believe me!”

“Listen, the only reason I haven’t completely run off yet is because you look super innocent and cute,” Jinsoul says, distancing herself some more, “but you're also nuts.”

 _Stick to a story, stick to a story._ “I told you! I’m Cupid incarnate!”

A beat passes. “You just said you were Gowon,” Jinsoul says dumbly.

“I’m Gowon _and_ Cupid!”

“…Okay, I’m going to walk away now. Briskly. Don't follow me.”

The prospect of failing this assignment and consequently rotting in hell surfaces more presently in Gowon’s mind, suddenly hounding her thoughts like a hungry wolf ready to pounce.

“Wait! Just hear me out!” Gowon shouts as she jogs after Jinsoul’s retreating figure. 

“I said don’t follow me! You don’t make any sense!”

“Do I _have_ to?!” Gowon retorts impulsively.

Jinsoul comes to a halt and turns to look at her with an incredulous look. _“_ Uh… _yes?!_ What kind of world do _you_ come from?” 

Gowon frowns. She doesn’t come from any world. 

“Cupid’s not real,” Jinsoul reiterates. 

“Of course Cupid’s real, I’m _right here_. In the flesh.”

Goodness, why can’t Jinsoul just take things at face value? Why do humans believe in a flat earth but can’t fathom the possibly real existence of Cupid? Why the incessant need to make sense of _everything?_ Humans are curiously fascinating, yet terribly complex creatures...

Jinsoul can only bark out a laugh. “This is crazy. Look, just fess up, tell me who you are and why you want anything to do with me.”

A sigh falls from Gowon’s lips. Jinsoul's glaring at her apprehensively, an impatient foot tapping like she's ready to flee the moment Gowon says the wrong word. Feeling like she’s been backed into a corner, Yeojin’s irritating voice floods her mind (' _desperate times call for desperate_ _measures!_ '). Desperate times call for breaking every damn rule in the book for the sake of saving your ass.

 _Fine_ , Gowon thinks, _but you’re not going to believe me._ She heaves in a breath and exhales slowly. 

“I work at The Firmament. We run this universe. I’m in charge of your love life,” Gowon explains plainly. “It’s abysmal, by the way, and so are my performance appraisals. The only way I can save my job now is to fix things with you or else I get cast off to eternal damnation.”

There. Blew her entire cover in five seconds. _This better have been worth it!_

An excruciating silence falls over them. And then Jinsoul begins to bare the widest of grins for god(s) knows what reason.

“Hold on…this has got to be some elaborate joke. Are you one of the new freshmen? Did Jungeun set you up to this? Or Jiwoo?” Jinsoul questions, a contemplative finger to her temple, eyebrow raised in amusement. “Because eight out of ten. I think your explanation better fits the ‘God’ identity than the ‘Cupid’ identity, but I like the corporate twist. This kind of creativity reeks of Jiwoo.”

Jinsoul spins around, eyes searching.

“Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Gowon exclaims, but Jinsoul’s too busy craning her neck. “What are you looking for?!”

“The camera. This must be one of Jiwoo’s stupid pranks,” Jinsoul answers absent-mindedly. “Jiwoo! Quit it already, you only have five subscribers! And Sooyoung, Jungeun, and I are three of them!”

Gowon ignores her. “You asked for the truth and I gave it to you!”

Jinsoul crosses her arms, amused. “The truth sounds like fiction.”

Pursing her lips, Gowon probes her superior all-knowing idea bank for a way to make this make sense in human terms. She knew Jinsoul wasn’t going to believe her.

_Think, Gowon, think! Your existence depends on this!_

And then it comes to her like a eureka moment: 

“You have a soulmate.”

 _Record scratch._ Human fables about ‘soulmates’ controlled by ‘the universe’ are a valiantly romantic effort at making biologically and culturally expected social partnerships meaningful. Though not really true, they do prove useful for Gowon’s job. If Jinsoul’s not going to believe the truth anyway, might as well fall back on the silly mortal fairy tales. Screw Yeojin’s ‘cop-out’ argument, Gowon’s desperate!

Jinsoul makes a noise that’s half a scoff, half a laugh. “You’re kidding.”

Gowon subtly rolls her eyes because of course, humans have all these big ideas about soulmates and predestined happy-ever-afters, but they don't _actually_ believe in them. What's the point?!

(Gowon can tell her, ‘ _well, actually, you have a designated life partner who is theoretically ideal for you, according to our data’,_ but records show that shattering humans’ carefully constructed world of meanings only results in an unproductive state of existential crisis.

And Gowon has no time to deal with that.)

“You have a soulmate,” Gowon re-iterates, “and that’s the good news.”

Jinsoul lifts an eyebrow. “Fine. If this is one of Jiwoo’s pranks, I’m gonna play along _for the content_ , so this shit better go viral,” she grumbles, sighing before putting on a false expression of fear. “Oh dear. Tell me, Cupid, what’s the bad news?!”

“The bad news is that it’s not Ha Sooyoung.”

The amusement on Jinsoul’s face disappears quicker than it appeared as all her features fall in unison, wide grin morphing into a frown. The surprise only lasts for a second, though, before Jinsoul forces out an insulted scoff.

“That’s not funny,” she mutters. She and Sooyoung have been going through a rough patch lately, Gowon knows that (very well, actually; it's been her intention this entire time, after all).

“You needed to know,” Gowon tells her solemnly. It’s her best attempt at softening the blow, but truthfully, this really shouldn’t be any cause for alarm. This is just the way things are, the way they’ve dictated it to be. It’s _normal_. “So, you need to break up with her.”

At her words, Jinsoul tries to laugh it off. She plasters a dumb grin on her face, but Gowon's contrasting seriousness doesn’t do anything to settle her fears and her smile soon dissipates into silence.

“Are you going to say anything?” Gowon asks when the awkward quiet goes on for too long.

“Yeah,” Jinsoul responds flatly, a beat passes, and then finally: “what the fuck?”

Again, she looks around for any sign of Jiwoo, but no girl pops out from the bushes despite how many times Jinsoul yells out her name.

Gowon intrudes her line of sight. “You have to believe me. If I don’t get you with your soulmate in two weeks, I’m doomed,” she blurts out, hoping Jinsoul catches the alarm in her tone.

The human shakes her head in disbelief. “This is stupid. I don’t even who you are. I don’t know how you know any of this, but it’s none of your business.”

“Actually, it’s quite literally _my business_ , but I digress,” Gowon says off-handedly. “I’m just going to tell you right now, okay? No dramatic pause, no drum roll. Your real soulmate is Jungeun. Your roommate. Your best friend. _Kim. Jung. Eun_. Do you understand?”

Gowon waits. Jinsoul returns her expectant stare for only a second before breaking out in barking laughter. It’s the mocking type, a guffaw that reduces the receiving end to a shrinking, self-conscious ball of nerves. Luckily, Gowon doesn’t have feelings to hurt.

“What’s so funny? This is simply the universe’s verdict,” she states matter-of-factly.

“Of all the bullshit I’ve ever heard, this one takes the cake. I think it's even worse than bullshit, it's _horseshit_ ,” Jinsoul exclaims before scouring the area with wild eyes again. “No offence, Jungeun! If you’re out there hiding in the bushes with Jiwoo somewhere!”

Gowon groans, bemused at Jinsoul’s incessant lookout for some camera as the mortal continues to call out for her absent high school friends.

“Why can’t you take this seriously?! We’re talking about your _love life!_ Do you know how critical interpersonal relationships are to a healthy and adequate existence? I’m just trying to look out for you!”

This might just be her most desperate plea yet. Drowning in blaze and inferno appears to become more and more inevitable by the second.

Jinsoul just shakes her head, shooing her off dismissively. “I’m leaving. Goodbye, Cupid. I'm not interested in your parlor tricks, so go shoot your arrows elsewhere.”

She skips off with those parting words and Gowon finds herself rooted to the spot. Going after Jinsoul right now would be futile, and she knows if she stays down here any longer, they’ll be looking for her up there. Today will have to be a failure. 

She sighs, lips pursed. This world’s always been so finicky; the humans here are too defiant for their own good, going about their lives at their own pace. Whose idea was it to give them this much god-granted autonomy? It makes Gowon’s job so much harder than it has to be. The worse part is that they’re the ones who _invented_ these pesky creatures!

“Where on earth did we go wrong?” Gowon laments to herself. She watches the back of Jinsoul’s figure, getting further and further away, like some twisted personification of her bleak future. “I am so doomed.”

***

“ _HEY!_ Cupid! What’s up?!”

Yeojin’s booming voice travels all the way from across the floor and no one even gives her a second glance. It escapes Gowon’s mind how she can get away with such rambunctious, unprofessional behaviour…but then again, being one of the best performing employees (and the boss’ favourite, somehow) might actually warrant this.

Gowon wishes she too could shout in the office without getting weird looks from her coworkers or an earful from the boss. Workplace discrimination is _real!_

“She’s hopeless, Yeojin, hopeless.”

Hopelessly _in love:_ Jung Jinsoul. Among their personal little office crew, she’s infamous for being notoriously stubborn. Utterly in love with her partner of one and a half years (previously her crush for four), Jinsoul’s preoccupation with her first love-turned-girlfriend has turned what should've been a straightforward pairing assignment into an arduous, resource-exhaustive uphill battle. Gowon's never gone through this much trouble pairing humans until now. Hence the epithet ‘ _Mission Impossible’_. 

“You’re just not trying hard enough,” comes Yeojin’s _super wise, super sensible_ observation. (Seriously, Gowon cannot wrap her head around the fact that Yeojin happens to be one of the best around here.)

Once Yeojin plops down on her customized office chair, Gowon hooks a hand on the armrest and yanks her troublesome co-worker towards her.

“I told her about The Firmament!” Gowon harshly whispers.

Yeojin gasps, mockingly, bringing a hand to her mouth. “Oh, you’re such a _rebel,_ Gowon. I bet _that_ worked out for you.”

Gowon rolls her eyes and shoves her away.

“You know we’re bros, right? I’d never throw you under the bus. You can deviate from the protocol as much as you want – in fact, I _encourage_ it. Whatever helps you with Mission Impossible. I respect the hustle,” Yeojin tells her, “but make sure you’re not gone too long. And don’t forget about the evaluation in less than two weeks.”

Gowon groans in utter despair. _Two weeks_. She has less than two weeks to get Jinsoul to magically dump Sooyoung and fall in love with the correct person?!

“Olivia! Help me!” Gowon implores when she sees her favourite co-worker at her desk. Olivia's been missing from her cubicle far too often lately, but Gowon's been too busy to think about it. 

“No luck with Jinsoul and Jungeun?” Olivia asks, to which Gowon sadly shakes her head. "I'll find a way to help you."

“The last time you tried to help her without getting permission from the boss lady, your Performance scores went down from ‘Barely Satisfactory’ to ‘Disgraceful’,” Yeojin points out - no one asked her to, she just felt like it.

Olivia’s face immediately turns sour (Yeojin has a knack for that).

“Oh yeah…it’s okay, I can do this myself,” Gowon concedes with a small frown. She hates being the cause of any poor score on Olivia’s report.

Olivia notices her disheartened mood, but just when she's about to say something, Yeojin interjects. “Have you tried guilt-tripping Jinsoul?”

“That’s low,” Olivia mutters.

Yeojin sits up. “Hold up, did you just say _‘_ that’s low’?” she gawks, taken aback. “Uh, hello? We’re all-knowing gods. Morals don’t apply to us, we _invented_ them. Literally, the ethical concepts department is two floors above us. And those folks are some of the most _boring_ killjoys at The Firmament.”

Olivia narrows her eyes. “You know, if we have to be like Yeojin to get a raise around here, maybe the netherworld doesn’t sound so bad after all.” 

“Do I have a choice?” Gowon asks, slumped over her desk.

"I thought you've been trying out a different approach with Jinsoul." 

"You mean the super secret strategy she refuses to tell us about?" Yeojin chirps. "I'm starting to doubt it existed in the first place." 

"It does exist! It's just- ugh, my methods are classified," Gowon huffs and alright, she hasn't told them about it because she's embarrassed it might end up being a catastrophic failure. "It just hasn't been as... _effective_ as I expected. Jinsoul is so frustrating,” (and Sooyoung is surprisingly resilient...), "I'm really left to my own devices here." 

She glances over at Olivia for some advice, _any_ advice - or even none at all, just a reassuring look would do. Olivia was always good at assuaging her worries.

Her co-worker only looks back at her with radiating sympathy. “Don't give up. Do whatever you feel like you need to,” she advises before a hesitant pause. "When I find something that'll help, I'll tell you, I promise." 

Gowon sighs. She appreciates Olivia's generosity, but she can't keep putting the others on the line for this. She better do something and she better do it _quick_.

(In spite of all the power they have, it seems the passing of time is the one thing that’s out of their hands. It’s got a mind of its own.)

***

“Nope,” is the first thing that comes out of Jinsoul’s mouth when Gowon sees her. She promptly spins on her heels and dips into an open elevator.

Luckily for Gowon, and unluckily for Jinsoul, the innocent-looking Cupid incarnate manages to slip a hand between the closing doors. Jinsoul whines, crossing her arms when Gowon enters.

“Not you again, Cupid,” she greets monotonously in lieu of a hello.

“So you _do_ believe me?”

“No,” Jinsoul replies, “I don’t. You’re just a crazy person.”

“I don’t know what else I can do to make you believe that Kim Jungeun is supposed to be the one you should be with. You have a soulmate-”

“Quit it with this soulmate stuff already. What I have is a girlfriend and a roommate.”

“And what I’m saying is that your girlfriend is not your soulmate, your roommate is.” _It's really not rocket science!_

Jinsoul camouflages her hurt with a strained scoff. “I don’t care.”

"You don't c-? _U_ _gh!_ " That’s when Gowon punches the emergency stop button. They jerk forward as the elevator comes to an abrupt halt.

Jinsoul shoots her a wild look. “What did you just do?!”

With a snap of her fingers, a manila folder materializes and drops into Gowon’s open hand. “I’m not allowed to tell you any of this, and you're probably better off not knowing, but you've brought this upon yourself.”

“Holy shit. Wait, did that folder just appear out of thin air?!” Jinsoul exclaims in awe. Gowon ignores her as she licks her finger and mindlessly begins flipping through the folder. 

“You see, up there, we spend countless orbital periods scrutinizing every aspect of your personalities, your strengths and weaknesses, _every_ intimate detail,” Gowon explains, “surveying every waking minute of your lives since birth, dissecting every action, and analyzing every interaction you have. We do all this backbreaking work–" (figure of speech, obviously; they have no spines) “-just to match every single one of you to your _quintessential,_ or at least as close as we can get to it, partner.”

Here’s the thing: humans are fundamentally unpredictable, but actually pretty darn predictable in practice. They’re also extremely malleable, like Play-Doh, readily molding to the form presented to them and assuming whatever behaviour is dictated by greater powers.

Thus, it’s fairly easy to get them to fall in love – if the timing is right and the situation has been thoughtfully crafted. Besides, there’s a universal fact ingrained into all of their minds, no matter how much they may try to deny it: they are born alone and they die alone, but they are not made to _live_ alone. It takes two to tango, in every meaning of that idiom. 

If the love of their life appears in front of them, they just _know_ …right?

At least that’s what Gowon's always believed. And she’s supposed to be all-knowing.

She holds up the manila folder, shaking it to emphasize. “This is your case file; your life in a couple of pages. I’ve worked day and night compiling and studying this so you should trust me when I say that the file most compatible with yours,” Gowon pauses to take a breath (for dramatic effect, obviously; they lack real functioning lungs), “is Kim Jungeun. You’re perfect for each other.”

Gowon proceeds to explain how she got to that conclusion – from all the memories Jinsoul and Jungeun have shared together since they were children, the hobbies that encompass both of their interests, all the way to the consistencies in their opinions and the harmony of their routines.

“…and don’t you get it? The reason why you two make such excellent roommates is because you are _meant_ to live together for the rest of your lives!”

_Now if that wasn't the greatest freakin’ pitch I've ever given..._

Rendered to stunned silence, utter disbelief at Gowon’s words, Jinsoul can only stand there and gawk at her.

Gowon sighs. “Listen, I know it seems like I just dropped a nuclear bomb on you, but this shouldn’t be anything new. This is something you’ve always known, somewhere in the deep crevices of your thoughts–“

“–No, no, it's not. How the hell do you know any of that?!"

“Oh my goodness. _I told you,_ I’m Cupid. Or God. Divine intervention, fate personified, Aphrodite – whatever makes the most sense to you, they’d all be correct in some…human way,” Gowon answers, waving her hand around. “What we do up there is simply beyond your understanding. The mortal brain is capable of many things, but it has its limits and grasping The Firmament is one of them. Just think of it in abstract terms.”

Jinsoul backs herself into a corner, grabbing onto the railings to support herself. “Fuck. Am I losing my grip on reality? This has to be a dream,” she groans. Closing her eyes, she pinches the bridge of her nose to tame the oncoming headache. “Do you know how insane this sounds?”

“Okay, relax, it’s really not so complicated if you just think of me as Cupid,” (that’s what humans do, right? Make up fairy tales and fictional characters, religions and gods, to make sense of the world?) “and then you'll understand that my existence _literally_ revolves around matchmaking. Do you believe me now?”

After a few seconds that feel more like an eternity, Jinsoul lets out a heavy sigh with a face contorted in discomfort. “Fine. _Fine!_ I believe you," she breathes out, "I mean, not like I have a choice. Cupid is real, I guess! Cupid is fucking real!"

She lets out an incredulous, maniacal laugh. Of course, Jinsoul just simply ran out of logical explanations, but Gowon ignores her disbelief, smiling at the mortal’s forced surrender. 

“There you go! So, you’ll toss aside Ha Sooyoung and get with Kim Jungeun?” she asks enthusiastically. 

Laughter tapering, Jinsoul picks herself up from the crumpled, shriveled-brain mess she was just moments prior, straightening her back as she finally returns Cupid's bright-eyed gaze. “No.”

Gowon’s smile falls. “What? What do you mean ‘ _no’_? Did you listen to a word I said?”

“I did. I took it all in,” Jinsoul answers, far too calm for someone who's just been told that her life is controlled by incorporeal office workers, “and I still don't care.”

Now it's Gowon's turn to be astonished. “Huh?!” is all she can manage to utter, but Jinsoul shoves past her to punch randomly at the buttons in hopes that the elevator starts moving again. She almost forgot they were basically trapped in a claustrophobia chamber suspended in mid air.

“I’m not dumping my girlfriend just because you - _whatever you are_ \- told me to. Screw the universe and its stupid judgements.”

Gowon brings a devastated hand to her face. That's when Yeojin’s voice comes ringing inside her head again: ‘ _have you tried guilt-tripping her?’_

She clears her throat. “Fine. I really didn’t want to say this, but you’ve left me with no choice,” she says to the back of Jinsoul’s head. “Do you have any idea of what your actions, or lack thereof, are doing? _You_ are wrecking a system that has existed since your earliest ancestors. _You_ are tampering with cosmic forces. By staying with Sooyoung, _you_ are depriving not just her, but _two_ others of their fated partners-”

Jinsoul stops messing with the buttons, but keeps her back on Gowon. “Who is it?"

" _You_ \- who is what?"

She hesitates a little before speaking. "Sooyoung's soulmate."

"Uh," Gowon shuffles on her feet, “that’s…confidential.”

That’s when Jinsoul finally looks over her shoulder, shooting Gowon an infuriated glare. “Are you kidding me? You just told me the apparent secret to the goddamn universe, which is that life is actually _The fucking Matrix,_ and you can’t even tell me _this?_ ” 

Okay, valid point. (Gowon’s favourite mortal movie, too. That and The Truman Show.)

“I can’t tell you,” Gowon replies slowly, choosing her words carefully, “because as far as I know, we haven’t matched her with anyone. Yet.”

Sooyoung’s file is another perplexing case, likely due to her unexpected attachment to Jinsoul. Despite their troubles, their bond is almost unnaturally durable. But Gowon has half a mind to look into it, unaware of who amongst her co-workers is even in charge of Sooyoung. Her only concern is Jung Jinsoul. 

The small smile Jinsoul lets on at the news is instinctive and perhaps a revelation of her very human selfishness, but Gowon can't really blame her. It’s the supposed love of her life, after all.

“Then me and her staying together isn't so big of a wrench in the system, is it?” Jinsoul tries to reason.

“I said _yet!_ We will, we always do, but we’re still working on her case,” Gowon replies in her best attempt at sounding convincing. “The point is, by refusing to let her go, both Jungeun and Sooyoung's real soulmate are going to be _forever alone_ out there. And it’ll be because of _you_. It’s selfish. Do you even care for Kim Jungeun?”

“Of course I care about her!” Jinsoul utters defensively, "but you’re the selfish one! Resorting to manipulation and guilt-tripping me to save yourself from ‘eternal damnation’ or whatever–“

 _Holy Firmament, is she brushing off eternal damnation like Yeojin-?_ “And?! My existence is _literally_ on the line!”

But Jinsoul refuses to come around.

Gowon turns on her therapist voice. “I know this is the most distant you two have felt with each other. I've been watching for weeks, _months._ Your interactions are superficially intimate and you rarely spend meaningful time together. When are you going to realize that it’s time to give it up? At this point, you’re just torturing each other.”

Jinsoul’s mouth opens and closes, slowly, as if every time she tries to say something, the words get stuck at her throat. She shuts her eyes. 

“We're not…stop it. Shut up. You don't know anything about us. We love each other and you will _not_ guilt me into believing otherwise,” she mutters without a falter to her words, "every couple goes through problems. We're working through it, she wants us as much as I do. I don’t have to listen to you.”

Gowon wants to smash her head through the elevator wall. It appears this stubborn attitude will not only lead to Gowon’s demise, but maybe Jinsoul’s too. 

(Her unshakeable persistence and the glaring fact that Sooyoung has not yet walked away from her all point to the consideration that perhaps, Sooyoung does love Jinsoul as much as the blonde loves her - Gowon can compute this much.

But that revelation doesn't help her case in any way. She’s facing literal _perdition_ here, the abode of the damned! She can’t let some silly humans be the end of her! They must be broken apart!)

“You don’t understand!” Gowon wails, “if I don’t get the job done, it’s not just gonna _feel_ like my world will end, my world will _literally_ come to an end. You can keep living your life in ignorance of the havoc you’ve caused to the system, but _I_ will cease to exist! ‘Eternal damnation’ might just be some words to you, I get it, it’s too complex for your little human brain to comprehend, but to me–“

Jinsoul abruptly cuts her off with a harsh jab of her finger to her chest. Gowon gasps. 

“And I get this might be far too complex for _your_ little nonhuman brain to comprehend, but losing Sooyoung is a hell of a lot like eternal damnation to me. And I am not losing this battle to you.”

 _Pardon?_ Comparing a breakup to everlasting punishment? Gowon gapes at her. She doesn’t know if she should burst into tears or laughter. Maybe both. 

“Now you’re just being dramatic.”

At her words, there’s a change in Jinsoul’s eyes, almost like a strike of a match, as her jaw stiffens. Gowon belatedly registers the weight of what she just said and opens her mouth to take it back. But just when she thought Jinsoul was going to jab a fist to her nose, the blonde holds back from the very human impulse to cause harm when provoked. 

(Oh, Jung Jinsoul and her knack for going against _everything_ in the Human Handbook.)

The elevator suddenly dings and the doors finally slide open.

“ _You_ don’t understand,” Jinsoul mutters, echoing Gowon’s words, “how could you? You’re not even human.”

And then she takes her leave, leaving Gowon struck silent for the first time in her eons of existence. 


	2. you can even call me cupid

“Do you believe in fate?”

Jinsoul poses the philosophical question one night over pizza. Very apropos.

Jungeun raises an eyebrow at her, mouth too full to speak.

“Like, soulmates and stuff.”

Jungeun hums contemplatively as she swallows her food. “Sure.”

Having been reaching over for another slice, Jinsoul’s hand stops in mid-air as she stares at her roommate. “Seriously?”

“Uh-huh.” Jungeun puts a slice on Jinsoul’s plate for her and proceeds to pick off the mushrooms.

Jinsoul becomes acutely aware of the gesture. She never liked mushrooms on her pizza – something she’s never vocalised, but Jungeun had noticed over the years. Considering her current state of affairs, Jinsoul can’t help but ponder if Sooyoung has ever done it for her too.

Jungeun interrupts her thoughts before she could find an answer. “I mean, some people just click so well, you can’t help but think it, right?”

“Like you and Jiwoo?” Jinsoul asks optimistically.

Jungeun almost chokes on her pizza. “You’ve been more forceful about getting me with Jiwoo lately. What’s up with you?”

 _Oh, nothing. It’s just that Cupid incarnate descended upon me to say that you are my destined life partner and I’ve been trying to convince myself that the universe is wrong and that we belong to different people._ “Oh, come on, just admit you’re into her.” _Please. I might actually be begging at this point._ “Can’t you tell she likes you?”

“She doesn't like me like that,” Jungeun feebly protests. Even under the poor lighting, Jinsoul spots the reddening of her ears. _A-ha! She's blushing! That’s something! Gowon, do you see this?!_

“Hundred percent she does. She'd be great for you! You guys get along better than me and you, even.” Jinsoul wonders what it is about her that makes her better soulmate material for Jungeun than sunflower personified Kim Jiwoo herself. “Ask her out and I’ll stop bothering you about it.”

“Fine,” Jungeun surrenders to the sound of Jinsoul’s cheers. “What about you?”

“Do I believe in it?” Jinsoul pauses. “No.”

Jungeun snorts. “Then why'd you ask?”

“You’re not gonna believe me.”

“Try me.”

Jinsoul lets out an uneasy sigh. She drops her pizza on her plate.

“A girl I’ve never seen before came up to me claiming to be Cupid and told me that I’m not meant to be with Sooyoung, and I have to break up with her or else this girl will be banished. I think she called it,” her eyebrows draw together, “’eternal damnation’.” 

Jungeun’s eyes bug out before she bursts into boisterous laughter.

Jinsoul takes this as an opportunity to watch the way her best friend’s features crinkle in amusement, how her eyebrows and nose unflatteringly meet in the middle and how her mouth opens wide with each cackle. 

She watches, waiting for some physiological reaction to be triggered; perhaps a racing heart or warming cheeks, _anything_ that might signal some new feeling of fondness or affection for Jungeun.

But…nothing.

No urge to say anything to her roommate except _‘you have an ugly laughing face’_ or some other insult exchanged between seasoned friends. How can this girl be her soulmate, according to the verdict of greater forces, when Jinsoul doesn’t feel anything for her like she does for Sooyoung? It boggles her mind. Is there something wrong with her?

The lamp hanging above their two-person dining table flickers. Jinsoul wonders if Gowon’s watching. The paranoia’s been bothering her lately, as are three hundred other things.

“You’re right,” Jungeun utters between laughs, “I don’t believe you.”

Jinsoul groans. “But she knew things about me! Like my birthday!”

“That's on your social media. You know, _publicly._ For literally anyone in the world to see," Jungeun replies, taking a bite out of her pizza.

“But she knew other stuff, too! Like…like…” Jinsoul pauses.

What convinced her in the elevator that day was Gowon – Cupid, God, the writer of human fate, whoever or whatever she is – talking about her and Jungeun and the memories they’ve had together, romantically recapped for Jinsoul like the synopsis of a dreamy coming-of-age movie. Stuff Gowon shouldn’t know _anything_ about unless she was seriously supernatural. 

But she can’t tell Jungeun any of that.

At her sudden silence, her roommate snorts at her. “She’s probably just a first year with no boundaries and a schoolgirl crush on her senior."

With no other alternatives, Jinsoul acquiesces.

“But hey, if she’s cute, maybe you’ll finally have a reason to break up with Sooyoung if you wanted to,” Jungeun comments with a shrug.

Taken aback by her casual frankness, Jinsoul gawks at her. “What? Why the hell would I do that?”

“Uh, you sleep over at her place less often and you don’t talk about moving in together anymore...?”

“So?” Jinsoul says, defensive, “she’s just been busier than usual...” 

“Well, all your drunken rants lately have been about her,” Jungeun crosses her arms and begins counting off with her fingers, “how high-strung and agitated she’s become, how she’s always busy, how she never makes any time for you, how you feel like you’re walking on eggshells around her so you two don’t get into another argument...”

A frown pulls down Jinsoul’s face as she slumps back in her seat, her appetite suddenly gone.

“ _Okay_ , okay, I get it,” she weakly retorts.

“I’m sorry...I just figured you’ve been thinking about it.”

She has, and much more intensely nowadays, especially with a baby-faced otherworldly being harping at her to get on with it already.

Jinsoul shifts in discomfort. “Do you really think it's time for us to call it quits?”

“That's not my decision to make. I think you should follow your instinct and do what you think is best for you,” Jungeun advises, her tone caring and worried. 

Jinsoul ignores the way Jungeun’s looking at her. “But I don’t want to break up with her.”

She has loved Sooyoung for almost six years. Jinsoul waited so long for her, how can she throw it all away now?

Jungeun lets out a loaded sigh. In it, Jinsoul can sense the disappointment and frustration, the concern and unease. Nuanced feelings only she can decode because of their years together, feelings she can't always read from Sooyoung.

 _Is this how it’s supposed to be like between soulmates?_ Jinsoul wonders.

Jungeun gets up from the table to wash her hands.

“Figure it out, Jinsoul. I just hate seeing you like this.”

Jinsoul picks quietly at her pizza to the sound of running water, eyes set on the neglected mushrooms littering her plate.

***

The cubicle next to hers is empty. Before Gowon could wonder where Olivia is, Yeojin rolls her beloved ergonomic chair over to her desk.

“How’d it go, hot shot?”

“Terrible. She’s not even considering it,” Gowon grumbles. “Jinsoul really doesn’t grasp the ramifications of her actions. To make matters worse, she keeps encouraging Jungeun to go after someone else. And it's working! Ugh!” 

“Are you serious?” Her co-worker lets out a long whistle.

“She thinks losing Sooyoung is comparable to _eternal damnation!_ I mean,” Gowon scoffs, “can you believe her?!”

It's not even an apples and oranges kind of thing, it's apples and perpetual hellfire.

Yeojin bursts into laughter. “You’d think after twenty million years of evolution, they’d have finer judgement by now,” she shakes her head, condescending in every bit, “tall order, I guess!”

“I’m running out of things to do.”

That resource-exhaustive, super secret strategy she’s been using for months and never told her co-workers about because she was afraid it might crash and burn on her? Well...let’s just say Gowon has already stolen countless bike wheels and killed too many car batteries, short-circuited the electricity too many times, and crashed enough computers to terminate an entire IT team.

Her idea bank of mundane inconveniences is very quickly whittling.

‘Plan #29: Test-Ha-Sooyoung’s-Patience-And-Steal-As-Much-Of-Her-Time-As-Possible-To-Induce-Breakup’ (the name is still a work in progress) has been pushed to its limits; any further and she might just drive the woman to insanity.

(That is _not_ her job. Not in this department, at least.)

Besides, she’s starting to feel uneasy about funneling all her resources into something with such high nuisance value. Not to mention the increasing difficulty of hiding the plan from whoever’s responsible for Sooyoung’s file. It's strange; meddling in human affairs has never made her this anxious before. What is it about these two?

"I'll throw you a bone. Let me think," Yeojin rubs her chin in thought, “what if you kill Jinsoul off and then have her re-appear in front of Kim Jungeun, except resurrected in a hotter body? More charming, not as awkward. Instant love at first sight.”

Gowon grimaces. “I am not killing her off.”

“You sure? It’s surprisingly effective.”

“You’ve tried it before?!” Gowon exclaims, scandalised.

“Hey, it’s not enough to be creative around here, you gotta be gutsy too,” Yeojin says pointedly. “Look, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Which means you need to pull out all stops. Don’t get soft on these humans! You’re not out of options, you just need to take greater risks and make some sacrifices.”

To put it into mortal terms, Yeojin is much like the metaphorical devil on her shoulder. Gowon can sense what she’s insinuating, but something _(what is this feeling?! )_ makes her hesitate. Her remaining options tread into uncharted _(uncharted? But we’re capable of everything?!)_ territory. 

Suddenly, Yeojin dips out of the cubicle with a small yelp and Gowon turns just in time to catch their snippy supervisor passing by, glaring daggers at her as if to non-verbally remind her that time is ticking.

Alright, screw boundaries and screw protocol.

They’re supremely divine metaphysical forces of _the cosmos_ , for Firmament's sake. She’s not about to be banished into nonexistence because of some pesky, powerless mortals!

***

Through the blinds, the sunrise streams into the bedroom in strips.

“I should go...”

“Just one more minute.”

“Our one-minutes always end up lasting one hour.”

Jinsoul hums as she snuggles into the crook of Sooyoung's neck. “Hmm, so?”

Sooyoung’s generous enough to let them lie in silence for a few seconds before she does the subtlest of squirms. “I have an early meeting today...”

“Another one? Fine,” Jinsoul grumbles sleepily, “whatever, Sooyoung.”

She immediately untangles herself, turning and burrowing into the warmth of the blankets in some attempt to displace the heat Sooyoung’s body emanated. The comfort she was relishing in dissipates into unspoken tension in a second.

Jinsoul notices that Sooyoung hasn't left yet when the weight on the bed doesn't lift. “Babe...” she hears over her shoulder.

“What?” Jinsoul can’t help but snap.

“You’re upset.”

“Because I just want to spend more than ten minutes with my girlfriend for once, but she’s always got more important things to do,” Jinsoul grumbles into the pillow. 

“That’s not– there’s nothing I can do about it,” Sooyoung retorts in a hushed huff, “I spent the night with you!”

“You came back at midnight and we slept next to each for six hours. Yup, that makes up for everything.”

Sooyoung frowns, softening her tone to placate her girlfriend. It’s too early for this. “Jinsoul, I’m sorry. It’s just, you _know_ I've been swamped lately, they’ve been pushing me more at work and my seniors–”

“And your seniors expect you to wipe their asses too because they can’t do it themselves,” Jinsoul bitterly interjects, “I know. I’ve heard this a thousand times already. I just don't understand why you have to put so many things on your plate and do everything for everyone. I just wish you'd quit.”

If only Sooyoung would find a new job where she's treated better, but Jinsoul's too resentful to word it that way.

“I can't just quit! I thought you understood-” she pauses, stopping herself before she gets impatient, “come on, let's not get into this right n–”

Before she can finish, Sooyoung's abruptly interrupted by a ringtone. She groans as she reaches for her phone on the nightstand, clearing her throat before begrudgingly answering the call.

“Hello?... Good morning, sir... Yes... I apologize, I’m on my way... I understand- yes...yes, sir...” 

Judging by the sudden change in her tone, Jinsoul can tell she’s talking to her superior. Sooyoung lets out a resounding sigh after hanging up.

“Fuck. Already yelling at me so early in the morning..." she gripes, running a hand through her matted hair.

Suddenly feeling guilty about the way she snapped earlier, Jinsoul opts to stay quiet. As bothered as she may be, she doesn’t want to add to Sooyoung’s stress. 

_But how long do I have to keep doing this?_

“We’ll talk tonight, okay?” Sooyoung murmurs to her, “feel free to stay here. If not, I’ll call you later.” 

Jinsoul feels the covers shifting, followed by a gentle kiss on the side of her head. Sensing the figure still hovering closely above her, she turns and finds Sooyoung gazing at her, remorse etched on her tired features.

“Sooyoung...”

“You're important to me, Jinsoul. If I could, I would spend every minute with you.”

There’s a remarkable sincerity in the way Sooyoung speaks that it gives credence to her words. Still, it doesn't fully settle Jinsoul's worries. 

“I know,” she finds herself replying anyway.

With a sigh, Sooyoung reaches up to squeeze her shoulder, giving her one last peck on the lips before getting up from the bed. Jinsoul pulls the blanket over her and curls into herself, listening distantly as Sooyoung fumbles around the room in haste.

An exhaustion pulls her eyes close as she submits to the sleepiness.

“Hey. I love you,” Sooyoung says from the door. “I’ll make it up to you as soon as I can, I promise.” 

But Jinsoul’s far too familiar with empty promises by now. When she doesn’t reply, she hears feet shuffle over to the bed, followed by arms wrapping tightly around her. Jinsoul doesn’t understand what’s come over Sooyoung; the girl just usually leaves quietly and quickly, but perhaps she feels guiltier about it today.

“You’re gonna be late, Soo...”

“Please don’t give up on me, okay?” Sooyoung whispers, “Please. I don’t want to lose you.”

And then she pulls away and rushes out of the room, leaving Jinsoul to process the rare moment of tenderness on her own.

***

A metaphorical light bulb flicks on in Gowon’s head.

She rolls her chair backwards and peeks into the adjacent cubicle, pleased to find that it’s occupied. Olivia has been rarely around these days, much to Gowon's disappointment. 

“Oh, Olivia! You’re here!” she exclaims cheerily, unaware of the smile subconsciously taking over her face. “Where’s Choerry? She might have some advice about what to do with Jinsoul and–“

“She’s busy,” Olivia interrupts, shaking her head, “ask Yeojin for help instead.” 

“Did someone say my name? Disclaimer that I never provide counsel for free–“ comes a voice from the cubicle across theirs. Yeojin’s cut off by the ringing of the rotary telephone on her desk.

Gowon’s smile disappears as quickly as it appeared as she glares at Olivia.

“Why are you always like that about Choerry? You can’t help me, and now you won’t even let her give me some advice! Do you even care about me being banished from the office?!“

“Huh? _O_ _f course,_ I care!” Olivia retorts, eyebrows sloping inwards at Gowon’s outburst. “It’s just that– ugh, she’s busy with her assignment!“

“Boss lady just called,” Yeojin interrupts, “employee evaluations have been moved to next week.”

“What?!” Gowon nearly falls off her seat. “Okay, I’m convinced this is just a ploy to cast me off to the abyss sooner than later. Someone _obviously_ doesn’t want me working here anymore.”

Olivia frowns. “That’s not true...”

“I’m breaking those two up, no matter what!” Gowon exclaims, a fire sparking in her as an unknown force suddenly propels her to her feet. Yeojin shouts whoops of encouragement as Gowon stomps her way down the aisle of cubicles.

Something brings her to an abrupt stop - namely, a deafening ‘ _Gowon!’_ from a usually jaded co-worker.

Whoa. Olivia never yells.

Heads turn, eyes shadowed by dark circles glaring. The culprit in question looks like a deer in headlights, torn between staying on the spot and letting everyone in the office hear what she’s about to say, or running after Gowon to furtively whisper it to her instead. 

Gowon sees Olivia’s mouth move but can’t make out the words.

“What are you trying to say?!” she yells back. The heads of their startled co-workers move back and forth between them like spectators at a tennis match.

Olivia swallows. “I-I said,” a bit louder this time, “just try to show her some empathy!”

Weary eyes blink at each other in confusion. The silence in the office gradually grows to quiet murmurs, and then everyone turns back to their desk, returning to whatever work they had temporarily put on hold to watch the spectacle that is Olivia Hye raising her voice.

Gowon furrows her eyebrows.

Olivia gives her a subtle nod before disappearing behind her cubicle, dipping back in embarrassment. 

Gowon is left to tilt her head and ponder on her words. But she’s not entirely sure what Olivia means and her existence’s expiration date is fast approaching, so she has no time to go back and ask.

Jinsoul first. 

(“Well, that was weird,” Yeojin quips with an amused snort as she watches Olivia slink back to her desk.

“Shut up, Yeojin.”

“Sure. But first, what the hell is an ‘ _empathy’_?”)

***

When she leaves the lecture hall, she spots a familiar figure by the display case. Gowon's fur-lined pink coat and glistening silver hair stands out from a mile away.

Jinsoul doesn’t get to escape in time, though, because Gowon sees her too. Cupid incarnate tears her attention away from admiring her own reflection and glides over.

“Finally, I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes!”

Grabbing her arm firmly, Gowon tugs the surprised girl into an empty hallway. 

“Christ, I’m begging you to _please_ leave me alone!” Jinsoul cries, crossing her arms sheepishly when a passing student eyes them curiously. She lowers her voice to a hushed whisper. “How did you find me? Again?!”

“Seriously? I thought you’d get it by now that asking _me_ questions starting with ‘how’ is futile.” (How has Jinsoul not caught on to the whole ‘ _I know everything there is to know about the world, I dictate what is to be known_ ’ thing?)

“We are not doing this again.”

“You’re remarkably strong-willed, but it inspires me to be just as relentless.”

Jinsoul glares at her. She may hold doubts when she’s with Sooyoung, but in front of Gowon, she finds herself wanting to fight for their relationship more intensely than she ever has in front of anyone else.

“How do you know who I should be with? Why do you get to dictate how I feel? Can you read my mind? You can’t, can you?” she swiftly fires.

“Well, _no_ ,” Gowon sputters, “we are not necessarily privy to your innermost thoughts–”

“Exactly!”

“–But I’ve watched you your entire life! I _know_ you!”

“That’s creepy!”

“Girl, _it’s my job!_ ” Gowon hisses. “Why are you so stubborn?!”

Jinsoul crosses her arms, jaw tensing. She suddenly remembers what Sooyoung told her this morning, and hope supplants her doubt.

“You think I’d still fight this hard if I knew Sooyoung wouldn’t want me to? I’m not budging.”

“Or maybe you’re just grasping at straws because you’re desperate to believe she’s as in love with you as you are with her!”

At the unexpected remark, Jinsoul’s eyes widen in hurt. She jabs a finger into Cupid's shoulder.

“Don’t go there, don’t gaslight me. You know _nothing_ about her, your judgement is based on perception and a couple of pages in a manila folder.”

Gowon purses her lips. Jinsoul refuses to back down, but she's not about to surrender either.

“Jinsoul,” she warns sternly, “is this really the hill you want to die on? Because _I_ refuse to perish here.”

“Yes,” Jinsoul answers plainly, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “I’m more than willing to die on this hill.”

“At my expense?!”

Jinsoul’s face flashes a look of guilt. _Subtle_ , but visceral. She quickly veils it with bravado. “Look, I don’t know you! You’re not even a person! You’re not _anything!_ And nothing you say or do is going to change my mind!”

Stomping her foot with a scowl, Gowon almost looks cartoonish. “Well, you won’t like what I can do,” she cautions, “and I _will_ do it if you force my hand.”

The vague threat, if that’s what it can be called, falls on deaf ears. Jinsoul just side-steps around her, ready to march off. Sooyoung promised her they’d talk tonight, and she doesn’t want to waste her breath on this any longer.

At seeing Jinsoul about to walk away from her _again,_ Gowon yells after her in an abrupt bout of exasperation: “Jung Jinsoul! Do you know how many times I’ve already tried to break you two up?! The number of fingers would not be humanly possible! I've gone such great lengths!”

Jinsoul comes to a halt and glances over her shoulder. Gowon’s staring at her with wild eyes, an unusually funny look from such an adorable face.

“What are you talking about?” she asks blankly. 

“Where do I even start? I’ve popped her tires. I’ve stalled the metro so she’d be late to urgent meetings. I’ve spilled coffee on her and everyone around her. I’ve replaced all her pens with inkless ones. I’ve messed with her boss so he’d be more irritable. I’ve had classmates fall sick so she’d be dumped with more coursework. I’ve turned every light red on her commute to her internship...” Gowon goes on to list a couple more in sudden desperation, “all these, several times. But I can’t keep doing it anymore! Don’t make me resort to pushing her so far that she’ll directly hurt you!” 

Something in the air shifts. Brows deeply furrowed, Jinsoul spins on the balls of her feet to glare at her incredulously. "Excuse me?" 

Gowon finds herself gulping. 

“That was you? This entire time?” Jinsoul utters in disbelief, “you mean all this shit...was _your_ doing? I...”

She recalls periods over the past few months during which Sooyoung would go through a spell of misfortune, but they always soldiered through it, chalking it up to bad luck and even joking about what wrongs Sooyoung must’ve committed in her past life to receive such karma. Minor inconveniences build up, though. Sooyoung’s been so wound up and erratic lately that it’s driven an evident wedge between them - but that was the point all along. The friction was purposeful. It was all Gowon.

Talk about a sabotage scheme of deific proportions.

Astonished, the rest of Jinsoul’s words catch in her throat. Her skin crawls with discomfort. This _seriously_ can’t be real.

“This is all your fault,” she murmurs as she heaves in a deep breath. “But...why? Why would you punish Sooyoung instead of me?”

The thought of Sooyoung going through such unfair harassment because of her twists Jinsoul's stomach into a thousand unpleasant knots. She feels like throwing up.

“I’m sorry, but it was just logical, you see,” Gowon replies calmly, “she scores highly on neuroticism and conscientiousness – easy to stress and overwhelm. I concluded she would be the optimal target for such directed action, given my time constraints.” 

Jinsoul had asked for it, but can’t even process Gowon’s mechanical answer.

“Unfortunately, you are devoted to a fault. In the centuries I’ve done this, your attachment to each other is...” Gowon grimaces as she searches for the right word, “...it’s anomalous! I cannot control the confounding variable if I can’t understand it!”

Nothing can subdue the coming migraine pounding in Jinsoul’s ears. On one hand, it puts her mind at rest that neither she nor Sooyoung were fundamentally responsible for their recent discord. They just unluckily found themselves at the crosshairs of a very desperate deity – and for what? Being in love?

On the other hand, all of this just seems so absurdly diabolical that the anger overwhelms the relief.

“Do you even how fucking _twisted_ that is? Meddling with her life like that?! It’s wrong, Gowon!” she yells, indignant, a fire lit behind glassy eyes. “What the fuck!”

Taken aback by the sight of Jinsoul about to burst into tears, Gowon freezes up.

“It’s- it’s my responsibility! I literally exist to do this! I’m just looking out for you, Jinsoul–”

“Hurting the person I love is _not_ looking out for me!”

“I know you don’t like this, but it’s the position I’ve been put in. It was a _last resort._ You just can’t understand the gravity of my predicament, but I need you to comply!”

Jinsoul starts pacing, eyes tightly shut as she runs a shaking hand through her hair. This goes on for five more minutes and she shuts Gowon up every time she tries to say a word, leaving ‘Cupid incarnate’ staring helplessly at the mortal.

Finally, she comes to a stop in front of Gowon. They don’t have a drastic height difference, but Jinsoul feels like she's towering over the silver-haired girl right now.

“You’re right,” she says, voice taking on an unnatural steeliness that Gowon's hearing from her for the first time, “I don’t understand your plight and I don’t think I ever can. You literally determine fate. _Fate!_ Something so beyond what I can grasp, it’s almost like you’re untouchable.”

Gowon swallows under the scrutiny of the tense human in front of her, wondering if this feeling is what they call ‘fear’.

“But you’re not. You’re here, in the flesh. Which means I can _do_ things to you _,_ ” Jinsoul slowly explains, as if she too is figuring this out as she speaks, “I have agency. I’m not a puppet on a string. I can walk away from you, like I’ve done before and like I will do today.” 

And, marching to the beat of her own drum, Jinsoul does just that.

“Wait!” Gowon presses for the last time at the retreating figure. “Explain it to me, at least! Help me understand why you’re like this!”

She shouldn’t waste her time, but when she looks back, Jinsoul finds Gowon looking at her with wide, desperate eyes. Being the human one here, after all, she relents to the puppy dog anguish with a sigh.

“Look, maybe what you do – the matchmaking – works better in theory than in practice. This isn’t something you can calculate from your observations because it’s not always predictable,” she explains. Her thoughts flood of Sooyoung, of her laughter and her touch, of inexplicable emotions and desires. Her pulse races. _This_ is what it feels like to love. “It’s not always something you can control. Neither can I.”

Maybe in many ways, her and Jungeun were the perfect set-up to a fairy tale. But Sooyoung has the distinction of being her first love, someone Jinsoul’s been smitten with ever since the girl kissed her in the girls’ washroom during their first year of high school. It's not something she can fully understand, but the feelings have only amplified as time went on, becoming more organic the more effort they put into each other. 

_Effort._ And it’s then Jinsoul realises where the difference lies in who she is choosing.

“Lovers can’t just be assigned and blindly accepted. You know why?” she explains, “because it requires persistence and patience and _work_. I can’t help what I feel for Sooyoung and I’ve made up my mind to commit to it.”

Gowon stares at her, the bemusement on her face glaringly transparent. She’s at a loss for words, stilled by the distress of the only beliefs she’s ever known getting picked apart by every word Jinsoul tells her.

“How can you _possibly_ understand? It’s human,” Jinsoul replies, shrugging lightly, “I’ve said this to you before.”

Gowon may claim to be all-knowing, but perhaps there are certain nuances to humanity that she has yet to uncover.

Damn, if this isn’t world-shattering news, then Jinsoul doesn’t know what is.

Cocking her head in interest at Gowon’s change in disposition, Jinsoul suddenly feels a pang of sympathy for her. She reaches up to squeeze her shoulder and Gowon visibly startles at the unfamiliar action, mystified eyes darting from Jinsoul’s hand to her face.

“I’m sorry,” Jinsoul murmurs. If she could save both Gowon and her relationship with Sooyoung, she would. “I just can’t give up on her, Gowon. I’d never live it down if I do.”

She hopes Gowon can grasp the weight of her intentions. 

“And please...quit it with the meddling,” she pleads quietly, “you’re just wasting your energy. Leave her – _us_ – alone. Please.”

And then Jinsoul walks off without looking back. As her phone buzzes with texts from Sooyoung, the only thing she wants to do right now is to see her and give her a hug.

***

Armed with a changed perspective, Jinsoul finds success in patching things up with Sooyoung.

Their talks feel less like empty words bouncing off each other as she has become more understanding and Sooyoung less exhausted. It appears Gowon has stopped interfering with Sooyoung’s life because she’s been more like herself lately. Sooyoung dedicates time to her, as she had always promised between the reluctant goodbyes and the rushed exits. After work, she readily melts into Jinsoul’s arms and coos about how she makes the aches of the day dissipate.

In the past few days, Jinsoul has wondered what has happened to Gowon more than a couple times. She found herself feeling sad if she thought about it for too long, though.

_But why should I be bothered when she was trying to break us up?_

_How can I feel bad for someone who isn’t even a person?_

_When gods die, are they gone forever?_

Though entertained, the thoughts dispel the moment she feels Sooyoung’s warmth against her.

She’s starting to feel more like a source of alleviation than of burden. Jinsoul didn’t know just how badly she had been craving this sense of normalcy until Sooyoung spent an entire day with her without a single interruption. It feels like their good days again. Admittedly, Jinsoul doubted her during her most pessimistic bouts, but Sooyoung’s been living up to her word, sometimes even going above and beyond.

It makes all the trouble she went through sticking up for them against divine ruling every bit worth it.

***

“She said she was Cupid, but Jungeun thinks she was just a freshman with a crush on me.”

The sun brings warmth and snow-reflected light into their room as they cuddle in bed.

Jinsoul doesn’t tell Sooyoung about Gowon. Not the entire truth, at least. She doesn’t like it, but maybe this is one of those things she’ll just have to keep to herself for the rest of her life.

“Huh?” Sooyoung props herself up on her elbow, “Cupid?”

“I know, it sounds crazy.”

“Is that how people pick up girls nowadays?” Sooyoung purses her lips, pretty features pulled into a petulant grimace. “You better have told her you had a girlfriend.”

Jinsoul laughs. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

She cradles Sooyoung’s pouting face, tugging her in for a kiss.

“How could I not be,” Sooyoung whines against her lips.

“Well, you’ve got nothing to worry about, I told her I had a soulmate already.” She pulls away to find Sooyoung grinning at her.

“Soulmate? Do you think the universe put us together?”

That draws a chuckle out of her. “Not necessarily,” Jinsoul admits, “but my life would sure feel empty without you. And all of _this_ feels just right...”

Beneath the covers, Sooyoung’s arm snakes around her waist, her touch leaving a warm trail, as she nuzzles into Jinsoul. Her nose traces the shell of her ear, her jaw, all the way down to her neck, taking her in as if time slowed for them. 

“I love it when you get all sweet on me,” she coos between peppering kisses.

Jinsoul lets out a pleased hum at the fingernails softly scratching her back. Fireworks go off in her chest as she chuckles. “Do you?”

“Mh-hm, seriously,” Sooyoung murmurs, “I'm so in love you, Jinsoul, to hell with whatever Cupid says.”

***

Gowon drags her feet pass rows of cubicles that seem to go on forever. She walks by office workers buried in mountains of paperwork, hunched over and gazes glued to blinking numbers on display screens.

Gowon thinks about Jinsoul. It’s clear now: the mortal wants to be in control of her own destiny, nevermind all the backbreaking work they do up here. Is this really out of her hands? Then what are they all stuck up here and working so hard for?

(Is this poetic justice? That they’re prisoners of concepts constructed by mortals, of cultures and human minds, the very things they themselves indirectly invented in the next department over?)

For the first time since she started working here – and it has felt like an _eternity_ – Gowon questions the work she does.

In her cubicle, she packs her personal belongings up in a box. It isn’t much; three slinkies, half a jar of sweethearts, a pink fidget spinner, a bow and arrow, a framed photo of a clergyman (Saint Valentine) and another of the Tinder logo, a purple Nerf gu–

“You’re leaving?”

Gowon swivels her head to find Olivia looking at her worriedly. She had been packing up quietly, but Olivia seems to notice everything. Or at least, everything Gowon does.

“I’m shelving the Jinsoul case,” Gowon says, “and my recent assignments can’t make up for my poor scores, so my prospects aren’t looking so great, Oli.”

“But you can’t give up yet!”

Gowon tries to read her expression based on what she has seen on Jinsoul’s face. _She’s upset...? Disappointed? Sad?_ Something churns in her stomach, as if seeing it makes her feel upset too.

“There’s nothing I can do about Jinsoul and Sooyoung, it seems like my intrusion just strengthened their bond. I don’t want to keep interfering, it doesn’t feel...right. Which I know doesn’t make _any_ sense, but- ugh! I don’t know what I’m feeling!”

She had been monitoring them for the past few days. Jinsoul’s plea for her to leave them alone seems to have struck some kind of chord because Gowon immediately withdrew. Since then, the two have been in record-breaking high spirits, even showing better statistics than most successful couples they’ve paired. For the first time ever, Gowon can’t comprehend it. 

“You feel something weird, don’t you?” Olivia murmurs.

Gowon slumps into her chair. Weird is a good word to describe it.

“Is this what you meant by ‘showing empathy’?”

“I don’t really know what to call it. I just picked up that word down there...” Olivia replies with a hesitant shrug. Weird is also a good word to describe the action of applying mortal concepts to themselves.

Olivia has always appeared to have an astute understanding of humans, despite her aloofness. She never slept through the human interaction seminars, for one, and she also has had her fair share of earth visits. She just never seemed to like talking about it, though. Better listener than she is a talker. Maybe that’s why Gowon, who could probably talk anyone’s ear off, gets along so well with her.

And maybe that’s why Gowon finds the courage to voice out her worries.

“Aren’t we supposed to be working for their benefit? Everything we do is to better their lives, not make them miserable. We’re supposed to bring people together, not break them up!” she grouses, crossing her arms in frustration.

Finding immense pride in having homewrecking prowess is a _Yeojin_ thing. Not a Gowon thing.

When Olivia puts a hand on her shoulder, Gowon feels the tension leave her body. Jinsoul did the same thing to her, but it feels different coming from Olivia. She can’t quite put her finger on why, though.

“We’ve been doing this for eternity. And when you see the callous ones – like Yeojin – consistently get the best scores, I can’t help but think we’ve lost our way a little bit,” Olivia mutters, voice fading as she ruminates over something, “but Choerry’s up there too, so there’s hope for improvement.”

At the mention of their cheery co-worker, Gowon purses her lips. She can comprehend this feeling now, at least: jealousy. And it's _gross_. 

“Well, without me around, Choerry can be your favourite now,” she grumbles, turning back to her desk. 

Taken aback by the sudden statement, Olivia blinks at her. “What do you mean? You’ll always be my favourite, no one's changing that."

Gowon abruptly stops playing with her slinky as something swells inside her. A _different_ feeling. She shrugs off the unfamiliarity.

“Right. Uh, yes, as I should be,” she mutters, cheeky as if she’s not about to malfunction on the spot.

“And you’re not going anywhere. Just wait a little bit, please, I’m...” Olivia gnaws on her bottom lip and Gowon, perhaps for the first time ever (many firsts today...), is unable to figure out why she's acting like this, “I’m going to do something about this.”

A touching gesture, but what can she possibly do? After a short moment of silence, Gowon stands up from her chair. She can’t bring herself to look at Olivia, so she directs her gaze elsewhere.

“I know you want me to be optimistic, so I’m going to go watch Jinsoul and Sooyoung in person for the last time. In the off chance I make it through this, I need to at least figure out how those two defy _everything_ we do.”

And she also can’t be within Olivia’s vicinity right now or she might just combust for reasons unknown. Gowon dips out of her cubicle without a second glance.

***

Jinsoul spots her only ten minutes into surveillance. Gowon yelps and ducks behind the tree, but much to her dismay, Jinsoul appears and grabs her fur hood before she can escape.

“I’m not here to meddle, I promise!” she sputters.

“I know!” Jinsoul says unexpectedly with a massive smile on her face. 

Huh. This is the least hostile she’s been in all their interactions so far. In fact, she almost seems _friendly!_ And approachable?!

Still, Gowon shields herself. “I know I’m an all-powerful being, but if you want to hit me, just know that I _will_ feel it.”

Jinsoul laughs. “No! I actually wanted to thank you,” she says, “because Sooyoung’s much less agitated nowadays and we’re a lot happier.”

“Oh," Gowon plays with the fur on her coat, "um, you’re welcome...?” 

“What’s going to happen to you? Are you leaving? Forever?”

Gowon shrugs. “Maybe eternal damnation won’t be as bad as everyone makes it out to be. How would they know, right? They’ve never been there.” She lets out a strained chuckle at her own joke, but Jinsoul just frowns.

“I’m really sorry,” the mortal says, eyebrows upturned. Seeing the guilt-ridden look on her face – Jinsoul is expressive to a fault – Gowon feels the sudden urge to reciprocate the apology.

“No, _I’m_ sorry,” she finds herself saying, “up to this day, I’ve always made people think they had a choice when they never really did, but you were the first one to see through that. You’re right, though. The universe shouldn’t feel like it’s working against you. I just genuinely wanted the best for you.”

She purses her lips and squirms. Gowon's inexperienced when it comes to baring such transparent compassion to a human being.

It doesn’t help that Jinsoul’s looking at her all weird, like she’s about to cry, but not the sad kind of tears. “I know,” she even says. _Softly_.

“I’ve accepted that the best for you is Sooyoung,” Gowon admits, teetering on her feet, “I still don’t completely get it though. It’s a deviation from an age-old matchmaking system.”

Jinsoul chuckles, light and airy, very unlike the loud unruly cackles she lets out at _every single_ _joke_ Sooyoung cracks. Humans are strange. “Maybe try taking a page out of our book and attribute it to some supernatural phenomenon?” she suggests. 

Oh, that’s right. Human beings always find a way to make sense of things. But for Gowon to try it herself? Unheard of! “I...I can try, I guess...”

There’s a fond earnestness to Jinsoul’s tone as she speaks. “I just love her a lot, Gowon. How should I explain it?” she smiles warmly, “I feel like my best self around her and I want her to be her best self around me. And for that, she’s who I want to see every night before I sleep and every morning after I wake up. It’s not really that complicated.”

“You don’t feel that way around Jungeun?”

“Eh, not quite. I mean, I love her to bits too,” Jinsoul laughs, “but it’s different. Who says I can’t have more than one true soulmate?”

Now, _that’s_ just a ludicrous proposition.

“Uh, the laws of the universe?” Gowon states, blinking slowly in bewilderment. “The rules.”

“Okay, maybe it’s ambitious of me to question the laws of the universe,” Jinsoul says sheepishly, “but hey, as cliché as it sounds, rules are meant to be broken. Love takes on a lot of forms!”

Gowon’s only ever been required to know one form. “I’m sorry if I’m slow to process this, I’ve just believed the opposite for as long as I’ve existed.”

This time, Jinsoul guffaws. “See, you’re as stubborn as I am!” she exclaims, only to soften once she sees Gowon’s perplexed gaze. “Hey, you’re going to be okay, right?”

“Me? Of course,” Gowon reassures her nonchalantly, “I’m not human. We do not experience pain or emotions like you do, or at least not in the same way.”

(She isn’t entirely sure whether that was directed at Jinsoul or herself.

Either way, Jinsoul doesn’t seem convinced.)

“Liar. Could it be...you’ve been infected by _humanness?!_ Uh-oh,” Jinsoul gasps dramatically as she brings a hand to her chest. “Don’t worry, Gowon, gods don’t have to be perfect. I guess you gotta be a _little_ human to be able to make humans.” 

Flustered, Gowon’s eyebrows meet in the middle. “Excuse me? Now that’s just silly.”

She is not about to be patronized by a mortal as she stands on the brink of being banished to the pit of Tartarus.

Before she could further protest, Jinsoul suddenly pulls her in for a hug. Gowon becomes stiff in her hold, arms frozen at her sides.

“What- what is happening?” she stammers.

“This is called a hug,” she hears Jinsoul say into her hair, “it’s a human thing.”

The only reply Gowon can muster is an awkward chuckle. She knows what a ‘hug’ is; it's a gesture between mortals that boosts heart health, reducing blood pressure and cortisol levels while increasing oxytocin. Obviously. She just doesn’t know why _she’s_ receiving one right now. 

New sensations bloom in her chest, a foreign sort of warmth among them, strangely soothing. _Weird,_ she thinks, _gotta ask Vivi about this when I get back..._

Jinsoul pulls away with a bright smile. “A hug! Just because.”

Gowon stays rigid, suddenly not knowing what to do with her hands. Or her legs. Or any appendages attached to her body.

“Um. Okay. Well, I should probably get going–”

Just as she was about to excuse herself and skip off to disappear forever, someone saunters up to Jinsoul, long arms slinking around her waist from behind and a sharp chin propping on her shoulder.

“Hey, babe,” Sooyoung greets, but the skeptical once-over she gives Gowon betrays her sweet tone, “who’s this?”

The brunette’s cautious, territorial glance makes Gowon squirm, as if _she_ wasn’t the one who hung Sooyoung’s entire sanity on a string for months. Huh, funny how the tables have turned. The unexpected power switch sends a nervous heat creeping up her neck.

“This is Gowon, she was just saying hi,” Jinsoul whispers, amused, as she leans into Sooyoung.

“Oh, you’re _that_ girl.” Sooyoung’s glare instantly sharpens. “Do you have a crush on Jinsoul or something?”

“P-pardon?” Gowon’s widened eyes dart to Jinsoul for help but she finds the girl smirking at her. She’s clearly getting a kick out of this. Whatever _this_ is.

“Look, I get it if you do – she’s pretty and lovely and amazing – but you should quit while you’re at it, for your own sake,” Sooyoung lectures pointedly, pulling her girlfriend closer. Gowon does not understand the obscure warning. “Hope you're catching my drift, Gowon.”

Jinsoul snickers. “Sooyoung, be nice. She’s harmless.”

Harmless? _She_ is literally an otherworldly force of nature. But Gowon decides to swallow her pride...

“Um, I want no trouble,” she blurts out, slightly (very) intimidated, “I was just leaving actually! Goodbye!”

She begins to walk backwards in stumbling steps before spinning on her heels, kicking snow beneath her boots as she marches.

“See ya, Gowon!” she hears Jinsoul call from behind. Gowon glances over her shoulder just in time to see the mortal affectionately hit the arms wrapped around her. Sooyoung’s lips jut out in a pout. Gowon turns back around just as Jinsoul leans in for a kiss.

_They look happy._

Gowon starts humming to herself. She doesn’t feel daunted anymore, even with eternal damnation on the horizon. Perhaps this is just her destiny.

And she’s okay with that.

***

On the eve of her banishment, Gowon almost shrieks in surprise when Olivia comes stumbling into her nearly empty cubicle.

“Olivia? What’s going o–“

“I can save you! You can appeal your case!”

“Huh?”

“So, Choerry and I have been spending countless axial rotations digging through the filing cabinets in archives and finally,” she holds up the manila folder clutched tightly in her hand, “we found it.”

“What? Archives? Found what?”

So that’s where Olivia’s been every time Gowon snuck a peek at her workspace only to find it empty? That’s why Choerry’s rarely around and why Olivia always covers for her? How could they even find _anything_ in that boundless expanse of a room?!

“It took us a while, but all we needed was _one_ instance in the entire history of the department...”

“Of what?”

Olivia’s voice lowers into a whisper. “Platonic soulmates.”

“What?” Gowon blinks.

“It was initially a failed assignment before it was reconsidered and eventually catalogued as non-romantic after board approval.”

Gowon’s face contorts in disbelief. “That’s...a real thing?”

Loophole proposals are basically an urban legend around the office. Frankly, Gowon never believed in romantic feelings being optional and no one’s ever had half a mind to look into it. That is, until Olivia and Choerry.

“Wait, wait, you’ve spent _how many_ orbital periods looking for this?”

Olivia shakes her head. “Ask questions later, the evaluations are tomorrow. I’ve already started working on a pitch for you–“

“Whoa, what?” Gowon raises her brows, skeptical, “are you sure about this? Is this even going to work? Does the trade union know?!”

She can’t put Olivia and Choerry’s careers on the line for a shot in the dark!

“Yes– kind of- well, no– anyway, it’s worth a shot,” Olivia explains hurriedly, “besides, I don’t want you to leave. You can’t! I will not let you sacrifice your existence for Jung Jinsoul, even if _you_ think it’s worth it! There are lousier employees here, too, I refuse to see you condemned to damnation before _Yeojin!_ So just trust me on this! _”_

Taken aback by Olivia’s passionate outpouring, Gowon’s overcome with that same warmth she felt bubble inside when Jinsoul hugged her, except much less foreign.

And so she pounces, enveloping Olivia in a tight embrace. A passing coworker with weathered eyes lifts a confused eyebrow at them.

“W-what are you doing?” Olivia mutters, eyes widening at the sudden display of affection. “Why are you hugging me?”

“I don’t know,” Gowon replies with a smile, “just because.” 

With that response, she feels arms timidly wrap around her in reciprocation.

***

_Six months later – or: after the passage of half a complete orbital period_

It’s been about 182.5 full rotations – approximately six Gregorian months – since Gowon has checked in on the aftermath of Mission Impossible.

She doesn’t typically revisit her successful couples, opting to shelf the folder once it gets the stamp of approval before cracking her fingers and moving on to the next mortal on her plate. There’s another million individuals to take care of, after all.

But, well, Jung Jinsoul’s a bit of a special case.

She reappears one day in her distinguishing pink coat and silver tresses. Amidst spring flowers, her autumn-winter attire sticks her out like a sore thumb. Gowon can’t take it off, though, because it’s the only way Jinsoul can spot her from across the hill.

If physical transformations were to signal anything, a new stage – be it in self-growth or in a relationship – would be it. Sure enough, the mortal’s traded out her blonde for jet black hair and wispy bangs. Gowon watches as Jinsoul excuses herself from Sooyoung (also sporting a new shoulder-length cut, well-suited for the summer) with a kiss, prying away from her hold. Jungeun and Jiwoo are there too, seated on the opposite side of the picnic table and glued to each other’s sides.

Jinsoul’s walk turns into a jog and then a full-on sprint as she makes her way over. “Gowon?! Is that you?”

“Hello, Jinsoul! I am here to tell you that I _empathize_ with you, which is a new and strange concept to me, but–”

Gowon’s words abruptly choke to a stop as Jinsoul tackles her in a welcoming hug. She staggers backwards, laughing in amusement.

“I thought you were eternally damned?!”

Her own laughter tapers into sheepish chuckles. “Some kind friends may have helped me find a way around it...”

“Friends? You mean there’s more of you out there? Oh my god.”

“You think I can handle seven billion love lives on my own?”

“Uh, yes? You’re an all-knowing metaphysical entity,” Jinsoul deadpans.

Gowon scoffs. “Please, you were already such a handful. If I was the only one working, I would _volunteer_ to be banished to the netherworld.”

Jinsoul rolls her eyes playfully. “How’d you pull it off?”

“I’ll skip the logistics. Let’s just say we had to convince _very scary forces_ , to the union’s utter dread, that you and Jungeun are somehow an exception amongst millions.” Gowon looks over Jinsoul’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of Sooyoung taking a photo of Jiwoo kissing a squirming Jungeun on the cheek. “Sooyoung and Jiwoo, too, funny enough.”

It turns out that Choerry was the one assigned with Sooyoung’s case file all along and, contrary to Gowon’s approach, _never_ wanted to break up her and Jinsoul to match her with Jiwoo, her intended partner. Hence her dedication to finding this loophole.

Gowon still feels guilty about putting Sooyoung through hell and back with Plan #29 (apparently due to something called a ‘sense of morality’ or whatever) but Choerry accepts her apologies every time with an unfailing ‘ _no problem!’_ and a dazzling grin. Like the quintessential fairy godmother that she is.

Gowon lets out a gentle sigh. “I also can’t believe we succeeded, but,” she flips her flawless silver hair over her perfect shoulder, “we _are_ incredible.”

“Yes, you are. I could kiss you right now, but you might hate it. I’m so happy to hear it worked out,” Jinsoul beams, “and so sorry to put you through that, chief.”

“You better be. The whole affair almost cost several of us our jobs, so you rascals better live happily ever after!” Gowon purses her lips.

Jinsoul drapes a lazy arm over her shoulder. “No worries. We've moved in together to a swanky new place - turns out she put up with all the bullshit at work because she was saving up,” she pauses to let out a dreamy sigh, “it's been great. The future’s looking bright,” she chirps, pinching Gowon’s cheeks, “but awww, you look so cute when you fret! Like a baby!”

With a scowl, Gowon writhes out of Jinsoul’s hold to fix the creases in her coat. “Hey, I'm still an omniscient being to you! Don’t forget that!”

(How dare Jinsoul infantilize her when she has lived Jinsoul’s twenty-two years a _million_ times over?!)

Jinsoul smiles and throws her a weird look. "Do tell: who was your almighty saviour?”

Olivia comes to mind. A warmth blooms. Kind, wonderful, caring Olivia with a compassion that rivals the most benevolent of gods, a charisma so spellbinding that she commands all the attention in the meeting room, more valiant than any knight in shining armo–

“Are you _blushing?!_ ” Jinsoul practically yells, yanking Gowon out of her abrupt reverie.

Gowon’s eyebrows fly up in pure offense as the mortal gasps. 

“W-what? Don’t be ridiculous!” she asserts defensively, “I have no neurotransmitters to signal such physiological response, much less blood vessels to dilate, so I don’t know why you would even suggest that.”

Jinsoul just laughs. She’s been smiling a lot lately, Gowon’s noticed. The most she probably has all her life.

“Hey, I don’t know deific anatomy, but it’s nothing to be embarrassed about! We’ve all been there.” Jinsoul shoots her a wink, nudging her on the side.

“Well, I am not like you.”

“Admit it, we're more alike than you think. We can learn from each other! Your job is all about love, but it seems like you’ve only skimmed the surface," Jinsoul says. "Look, I almost cost you your existence. Let me teach you all I know to make up for it!" 

Jinsoul looks at her with so much eager innocence, an expression she’d be hard-pressed to find around the office, that Gowon can’t help but concede. Even divine powers have a soft underbelly. Might as well step off her high horse and get something valuable out of this; besides, not everyone at the Firmament gets the privilege of having a mortal insider. 

“I suppose you could help me with something,” Gowon relents after a moment's consideration, “and after my spectacle with you, I do need to get back ahead of the competition if I want a raise.”

They are already overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.

“Wait, you get _paid_ up there?”

Duh. How else would she get her slinkies? Gowon waves her hand dismissively, not really in the mood to get into the economics of the transcendental realm right now. “I will allow you to help me.”

Jinsoul cheers, petting her on top of the head, and Gowon, deciding that it actually feels quite nice, doesn’t duck out of it this time.

“Yes! Young protégé, how may I assist you?”

“I was wondering if you could enlighten me on...” Gowon narrows her eyes, “... _human things_. Subjective emotions, feelings and...how you can distinguish between them. And the like...”

Concepts so seemingly profound and complex that she herself has trouble grasping it. 

Her thoughts fill with Olivia again, whose indifference hides generosity and a heart of gold– _no! For the raise! And for ‘Awe-inspiring’ on my next appraisal report! And for the boss lady to acknowledge me! For resource priorities on February 14th! This has nothing to do with kind, wonderful, caring Olivia, nothing at all..._

Jinsoul lifts an eyebrow, lips quirking up in a knowing smile.

“Well, it must be your lucky day because I'm the answer to all your troubles,” she says proudly, echoing Gowon’s first words to her. “You can even call me Cupid, if you’d like.”

**Author's Note:**

> hmu ♡‿♡ let me know what you think! [twt](https://twitter.com/sansrivalist) / [cc](https://curiouscat.me/sansrivalist)


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